Black Bear Moves On After Taking Tour Of The City

MIDDLETOWN — A black bear that led police and state wildlife officers on a pursuit through the city for much of Saturday and early Sunday morning appears to have returned to the den.

The last report of the bear, around 3 a.m. Sunday, had it moving toward Silver Street and Connecticut Valley Hospital, a more remote part of town.

The bear was first seen early Saturday, near Old Mill Road, west of the center of town. The bear was sighted in the afternoon near downtown, and late Saturday night witnesses and officers saw the bear in a gully near Main Street Extension. Toward midnight, the bear was moving south in the vicinity of Ridge Road. Over the course of the day, the bear covered about 2 miles through populated areas, police said.

Several hundred bears live in Connecticut. From June 15, 2003, through Saturday there were 1,526 bear sightings across the state. In neighboring towns, there have been two sightings in Portland and Middlefield and none in Cromwell, Durham or Haddam.

According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, the response to bear sightings depends on each situation. The DEP has ``tranquilizing teams'' of conservation officers and wildlife biologists to immobilize a bear.

The mere presence of a bear does not necessitate its removal; in most cases, if left alone, the bears make their way to more natural habitats.

In urban areas, the DEP removes bears when there is little likelihood they can leave safely on their own and when the bear can be safely immobilized and relocated.